49ers can win Super Bowl on arm of Jimmy Garoppolo
Throughout the build-up to the San Francisco 49ers' Super Bowl LIV clash with the Kansas City Chiefs, one question has persisted: Can Jimmy Garoppolo put the team on his back and lead them to a sixth Lombardi Trophy?
Doubts over his ability to do so have been voiced in the wake of two playoff games in which the 49ers have relied predominantly on the run.
Many pundits have misconstrued the Niners' emphasis on run game as Kyle Shanahan hiding Garoppolo, an argument that gained steam through San Francisco calling only six passes after his interception in the second quarter of the Divisional Round demolition of the Minnesota Vikings.
Garoppolo's pass-attempt tally of eight in the Conference Championship win was a source of amusement within the 49ers organization and among observers, but Shanahan was quick to clarify it was no reflection on their quarterback, San Francisco sticking with the run "because it was working".
Yet the reactionary nature of media coverage has led to suggestions the Niners will be unable to keep up with the Chiefs if they have to put the ball in the hands of their franchise quarterback.
Such claims display an ignorance of what Garoppolo did down the stretch in the regular season, when he carried the team to a series of thrilling victories, leading game-winning drives in wins over the Arizona Cardinals, New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Rams.
In coming through those shootouts, Garoppolo displayed remarkable poise and ability to perform in the clutch. He led the league in third-down completion percentage in the regular season, per The Washington Post. Despite much of the focus being on the gunslinging abilities of Mahomes, it is Garoppolo who has had the most success on deep passes in the 2019 season.
Indeed, including the playoffs, Garoppolo leads the league in completion percentage on passes of 20 yards or more. Per the NFL's NextGen Stats, Garoppolo's completion percentage on deep passes is 58.1, with Mahomes second on 47.1.
There are legitimate critiques that can be leveled at Garoppolo. He can be careless with the football and occasionally has a blind spot for linebackers lurking over the middle in zone coverage.
However, when he has been asked to deliver in the biggest moments this season – save for the overtime loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 10 – Garoppolo has done so and, though he is not regarded as one of the league's top deep passers, he has pushed the ball downfield with success.
Garoppolo possesses the poise and the arm to carry the Niners and, crucially, he has the play-caller to put him in the best position to succeed and stay in shootouts, as he did in San Francisco's thrilling 48-46 win in New Orleans.
Too many with short memories have pushed that stunning Superdome performance to the back of their minds but, against a vulnerable if opportunistic Chiefs defense, there is nothing to suggest he cannot replicate that display on the grandest stage of them all.
The Niners may have reached the point on the back of their ground game, but it should be no surprise if it is Garoppolo carrying them to the top of the mountain in Miami.
